This past week, both the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate passed Senate Bill 1. This legislation is meant to strengthen efforts to protect water quality by keeping fertilizers and manure off snow covered, frozen and saturated ground. The bill is now headed to Governor John Kasich for his signature. The Governor has indicated this is something he will do very soon, perhaps as early as this week.
The Ohio AgriBusiness Association, along with all the other major agriculture and farm organizations in the state, supports Senate Bill 1. In fact, the bill received broad bipartisan support in the legislature and many environmental groups also gave their approval, including The Nature Conservancy. OABA supports the bill because the fertilizer application limits are based on sound agronomics, and the bill also addresses issues with water treatment plants and the dumping of dredged material in Lake Erie. We commend the House and Senate on their comprehensive approach to this issue and their willingness to work with, and listen to, the agricultural community through this process.
The final version of Senate Bill 1 does the following:
The bill bans the application of fertilizer and manure:
On snow covered or frozen soil
When the top 2 inches of the soil are saturated from precipitation
Surface application of fertilizer when the weather forecast calls for a 50 percent or greater chance of precipitation of 1 inch or more in a 12-hour period (½ inch of rain in 24 hours for manure)
Exemptions to fertilizer application restrictions:
If injected into the ground
If incorporated within 24 hours
If applied on a growing crop
Enforcement of provisions:
The Director of Chief may apply a civil penalty of not more than $10,000. The person must be afforded the opportunity for adjudication
Additional bill details:
Only applies to the Western Lake Erie Basin (Click here for the map)
Fertilizer is defined as nitrogen and phosphorous
Manure applicators may apply for an emergency exemption
Medium and small animal feeding operations may apply for an exemption of up to two years if they are unable to meet the new expectations but are working toward compliance
Requires the state legislature to review the legislation after three years
Bans disposal of dredge material into Lake Erie in Maumee Bay after July 1, 2020
New monitoring requirements for water treatment facilities
The full bill can be accessed here: Senate Bill 1
Chris C. Henney on Tuesday 03/31/2015 at 01:26 PM
Joe,
You are correct that dredging is controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. OABA agrees that the deliberate act of dumping dredged material should stop as soon as possible, but we also recognize that a substantial amount of agricultural commodities flow in and out of that port. It's important for dredging to continue until they find a new location to dispose of dredged materials.
Joe Steinberger on Monday 03/30/2015 at 07:52 PM
In regard to the ban on Dredged material dumping into Lake Erie. Is this operation not over seen by some form of government agency? If so, why does it take till 2020 to stop the deliberate act of dumping waist into the shallowest of all lakes. This ban should be implemented the day the Governor signs it not 5 years from now.